Street-sweeping machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. V. B. ETHRIDGE.

STREET SWEEPING MACHINE. I

No. 485,577. Patented NOV. 1,1892.

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(No Model.) Q I M. V. B. ETHRIDGE.

STREET SWEEPING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 1,1892.

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M. V. B. ETHRIDGE.

STREET-,SWEEPING MACHINE. No. 485,577.. Patented Nov. 1, 1892.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN V. B. ETHRIDGE, OF EVERETT, ASSIGNOR TO THE BOSTON STREET SWEEPING MACHINE COMPANY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,577, dated November 1, 1892.

Application filed October 24, 1891. Serial No. 409,649- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, MARTIN V. B. ETHRIDG'E, of Everett, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street- Sweeping Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to that class of streetsweeping machines in which a rotary brush is employed to accumulate debris and a suction fan is employed to remove the dbris and deposit it in a receptacle.

The invention has for its object to provide such a construction as will enable the air which is set in motion by the suction-fan to efiectually and rapidly remove all the accumulated matter, including small stones and other matter of considerable weight.

Theinvention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a street-sweeping machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking toward the right. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 2. Fig. 3 represents an elevation of a portion of the opposite side of the machine from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4 4, Fig. 2, looking toward the right. Fig. 5 representsasection similar to Fig. 4, showing a diiferent stage of the operation. Fig. 6 represents a sectional view of the trunk, showing means for agitating the contents thereof.

The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, 0. represents a supporting frame or platform which is mounted to run upon wheels I), said platform and wheels constituting a carriage adapted to support the mechanism hereinafter described. Said carriage may be impelled in any suitable way, such as by horse-power, although it may be driven by steam-power, if desired,

0 represents the rotary brush, which is hung in suitable bearings below the platform a and is arranged to sweep the street on which the carriage runs. The brush is attached to a 5 shaft 0' which is mounted in bearings in a swinging frame 0 which frame is supported by and oscillates upon a shaft d,-which is 3our naled in bearings formed in fixed brackets cl, attached to the platform a, the arrangement being such that the oscillating movements of the frame 0 permit the brush to rise and fall, and thus follow the irregularities of the street. The brush is here shown as rotated by means of connections with one of the rear wheels I), said connections comprising a sprocket-wheel e, affixed to said wheel b, and a sprocket-chain 6', connecting said sprocket-wheel e with another sp1'ocket-wheele ,affixed to the shaft d, a shaft 6 journaled in hearings in the frame 0 and provided with a gear e meshing with a gear 6 affixed to the shaft d, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) a sprocket-wheel e affixed to the shaft e and a sprocket-chain e connecting the sprocket-wheel c with a sprocket-wheel e affixed to the shaft 0' of the brush.

f represents an apron arranged to receive the matter swept up by the brush 0, said apron being preferably composed of a series of sections or fingers arranged side by side, as shown in Fig. 2, said fingers being free to rise and fall independently at their forward ends and flexibly connected at their rear or higher ends with a support hereinafter described, the arrangement being such that the apron can conform to irregularities of the street or surface over which the machine passes.

, 9 represents a hood or casing, which is supported in any suitable way, preferably by means of hanger rods or links g, as shown in Fig. 4. Said hood constitutes a practicallyclosed' casing over the brush 0 and apron f to prevent the scattering of the matter swept up by the brush, said casing being open at its lower portion to permit the contact of the brush and apron with the street or surface to be swept. At the rear portion of the casing g isa trunk or fine It, extending substantially parallel with the brush and lengthwise of the apron, said trunk being attached at its ends to the brackets d d,which support the shaft d. The trunk h is composed of a rigid lower portion 7, which may be of sheet metal or any other suitable material suitably affixed to the brackets or supports of the trunk, and a mov- I00 able portion 8, which may also be of sheet metal, and is connected at one edge to the fixed portion 7 by means of a hinge 9, said hinge being, preferably, a strip of sole-leather extending across the joint between the parts 7 and S and riveted to said parts at opposite sides of said joint, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. hen the movable part of the trunk is closed upon the fixed part, as shown in Fig. 4, the trunk constitutes the closed back or rear wall of the casing g, the movable portion 8 being at the rear edge of and projecting above the apron f. Means presently described are provided for intermittingly raising the movable part 8 to permit the entrance of the matter swept upon the apron by the brush into the trunk h. Said means, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, comprise the cam 'i, affixed to the shaft (Z, the lever z", pivoted at one end to an ear or bracket t on the platform a, said lever having a trundle-roll 2' bearing on the periphery of the cam 2', and a rod t connecting the swinging end of the lever t" with the movable portion or door 8 of the trunk h. The cam t' is formed so that it will alternately raise the lever i, and thus open the door 8, as shown in Fig. 5, and depress said lever and cause said door to close, as shown in Fig. 4.

J represents a wiper which is operated to force a portion of the matter accumulated upon the apronfinto the trunk h when the door 8 is opened. Said wiper is here shown as composed of a shaft 10 and a row of bristles 12, affixed to and projecting from one side of said shaft. The shaft is journaled in bearings formed in ears or brackets 13, affixed to the frame 0 and is provided with a sprocket-wheel 24, connected by a chain 25 with a sprocket-wheel 26, affixed to the brush-shaft c. The wiper is rotated by the described connection with the brush-shaft, and its rotation is so timed relatively to the rotation of the door-lifting cam 11 that when the door is opened the wiper engages a portion of the accumulation of matter on the apron and pushes said matter into the trunk h, the door being closed after the wiper has accomplished this result.

represents an exhaust or suction fan mounted upon the platform a and havingits inlet or receiving port connected by apipe 70' with one end of the trunk h and its outletport connected by a pipe 70 with a bin or receptacle m, supported by the platform a, said fan operatingto draw the matter introduced into the trunk h from said trunk and through the pipe 7c and to force said matter through the pipe 76 into the receptacle m. The fan is continuously operated by any suitable means-such, for example, as a petroleu m-enginen, which may be the Well-known Shipman engine, mounted on the platform aand having its shaft connected by a belt n with a pulley 71 on a shaft 92'', journaled in bearings on the platform 0b, said shaft n having a pulley it, which is connected by a belt 01 with a pulley on the shaft of the fan. It will be seen that fixed tothe trunk h. leather or other suitable flexible material and constitutes a flexible connection, which permits the sections of the apron to rise and fall independently. The dirt-receptacle m is prefwhen a charge of the material has been inserted in the trunk 72 the force of the air drawn into said trunk by the fanwill be utilized to the best possible advantage in forcing said charge through the pipes 70' k into the receptacle m, the charge-receiving opening in the trunk h being closed after the introduction of the charge, so that air can enter the trunk only at one end thereof, the entering air therefore acting as a piston or plunger lll expelling the charge from the trunk and carrying it through the pipes to the receptacle m. I consider the trunk, with its alternately opening and closing doors, a very important feature of my invention, because it enables the force of the air set in motion by the fan to be utilized to the best advantage, as above described,andenablescomparatively-heavybodiessuch as the loose stones which are liable to be swept up by the brush from the surface of the streetto be readily carried to the receptacle 177.. To enable the air set in motion by the fan to assist in transferring the charge of ma terial from the apron to the trunk when the door 8 is opened, I provide a damper 0 at or near the end of the trunk which is farthest from the pipe It, Fig. 2, and means for alternately opening and closing said damper, the damper being closed when the door 8 is opened, so that all the air drawn into the trunk during said period will pass through the opening under the door and will assist the wiper j in charging the trunk. When the door 8 is closed, the damper o is opened to permit free entrance of air into the air-receiving end of the trunk for the purpose of forcing the charge out of the trunk. The means employed for opening and closing the damper are clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 2 and comprise an arm 0', afiixed to the shaft or spindle 0 supporting the damper, a lever oipivoted to an ear or bracket 0 affixed to the platform a, said lever having a trundle-roll 0 a cam 0, atfixed to the shaft 01 and arranged to support said trundle-roll, and a rod 0', connecting the free end of the lever 0 with the arm 0'. The

rotation of the cam. 0 causes the lever to alternately rise and fall, and thus alternately open and close the damper 0, said. parts being so timed relatively to the mechanism that operates the door 8 that the damper is opened when the said door is closed and closed when Each of the sectionscomposingthe apron f is supported at its rear the door is opened.

end by a flexible strip or hinge 14:, attached at one edge to the said sections and at its other edge to a bar 15, which is rigidly af- Said strip 14' may be of erably provided with a sloping bottom, as

.shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of which is at Ithe rear end of the carriage, the rear end of 1 the receptacle being provided with a door m to permit the discharge of the dirt.

IIO

- m represents a baffle-plate or deflectorscreen being horizontally arranged, as shown in Fig. 1.

n 'represents the exhaust-pipe from the en gine, said pipe being arranged to discharge the exhaust-steam into the receptacle m.

The brush-carrying frame 0 is preferably partially counterbalanced by a weight to, attached to a cord to, which passes over suitable guides and is attached to the swinging end of said frame, the arrangement being such that the frame presses downwardly with a force slightly exceeding the lifting force of the weight, so that the brush will descend and follow the hollows and undulations of the ground, the weight preventing the bristles of the brush from supporting all the press ure due to the gravity of the brush and frame.

I do not limitmyself to the details of co11- struction hereinbefore described and may vary the same to any extent within the limits of mechanical skill and judgment without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The movement of air into the trunk under the door 8 may be relied on in some cases as the only means for transferring the dirt from the rear portion of the apron to the trunk. Hence I do not limit myself to the employment of a device such as the Wiper j for transferring the dirt. In Fig. 5 I show a part of the machine without the wiper j. The door 8 may be raised andlowered by an attendant stationed on the carriage or elsewhere. Hence the invention is not limited to automatic means for opening and closing said door. In Fig. 6 I show a part of the machine without said automatic means. In this figure the rod 2' may be considered a handle adapted to be grasped by an attendant for the purpose of raising and lowering the door 8.

I provide the lower part 7 of the trunk with alining or supplemental bottom 70, of canvas or other suitably strong and flexible material, attached at its edges to the rigid body of the part 7 and free at its intermediate portions to rise and fall. The dirt in the trunk naturally rests on the supplemental bottom, which is so loose or slack that it can be vertically shaken or agitated to loosen and lift the accumulation of dirt, and thus enable the air to more effectually remove the same, particularly the heavier masses, such as pebbles and small stones. Theloose bottom 7 0 may be shaken by means of a series of tappets, such as 71, pivoted at 72 to the bar 15 or any othersuitable support, and a shaft 73 below said tappets adapted to be rotated by a connection with a suitable moving part of the Ina-- chine and provided with cams 74, adapted to alternately raise and release the tappets 71. Slots 75 may be formed in the portion 7to accommodate the tappets andcams.

I-claim- 1. In a streetsweeping machine, the combination, with a brush and an apron upon which dirt is swept by the brush, of a trunk' arranged at the rear of said apron and pro vided with a movable door arranged to permit the transference of a charge of material from'the apron-to the-trunk, and an air-forcing apparatus connected with said trunk, as

set forth.

2. In a street-sweeping machine, the combination, with a brush and an apron upon which dirt is swept by the brush, of a trunk arranged at the rear of said apron and provided with a movable door arranged to permit the transference of material from the apron to the trunk, an air-forcing apparatus connected with the trunk, and means for alter nately opening and closing said door, as set forth.

3. In a street-sweeping machine, the combination, with a brush and an apron upon which dirt is swept by the brush, of a trunk arranged at the rear of said apron and pro vided with a movable door arranged to permit the transference of material from the apron to the trunk, an air-forcing apparatus connected with the trunk, means for alternately opening and closing said door, and a wiper adapted to force a charge of material from the apron to the trunk when the dooris opened, as set forth.

4.-. In a street-sweeping machine, the combination, with a brush and an apron upon which dirt is swept by the brush, of a trunk arranged at the rear of said apron and provided with a movable door arranged to permit the transference of a charge of material from the apron to the trunk, an air-forcing apparatus connected with said trunk, avalve adapted to open and close one end'of said trunk, and means for opening and closing said valve, as set forth.

5. In a street sweeping machine, the combination, with a brush and an apron upon whichdirt is swept by the brush, of a trunk arranged at the rear of said apron andprovided with a'movable door arranged to perunit the transference of material from the apron to the trunk, an air-forcing apparatus nately opening and closing said door, a valve adapted to open and close one end of said trunk, and means for operating said valve, the arrangement being such that the valve is closed when the door is opened and opened when the door is closed, as set forth.

6. The trunk composed of a bottom portion 7 and the movable portion or door 8-, hinged to the portion 7, combined with the apron arconnected with the trunk, means for alter-I ranged to present material to the trunk, the leverz", connected with the door, and the cam 1', arranged to act on said lever, as set forth.

7. The combination of the trunk having the movable side or door 8, the valve 0 at one end of the trunk, the arm 0, attached to said valve, the pivoted lever 0 connected with said arm, and the cam 0, arranged to act on said lever, as set forth.

8. In a street-sweeping machine, the trunk having a loose flexible supplemental bottom, combined with air-forcin g apparatus and with 1 means for shaking or agitating said bottom to facilitate the removal of the contents of the trunk .by the air-blast, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 21st day of 0ctober, A. D. 1891. i

MARTIN V. B. E'lI-IRIDGE.

Vitnesses:

WM. A. MAcLEoD, C. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON. 

